JOHNSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Police have charged a Johnston man in connection with the accidental shooting death of a 15-year-old boy.
Marios Kirios, 29, was arrested and charged with four misdemeanor counts of improperly storing a firearm, according to Chief Joseph Razza.
Razza said it was Kirios’ gun that killed Dillon Viens, who was a freshman at William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School.
The events leading up to Viens’ death have not been made public, though Razza said Kirios was not home at the time.
Kirios was ordered held as a Superior Court violator during his arraignment Wednesday. Court records indicate that he’s on probation for passing fraudulent checks since 2019, though Razza noted the firearms in his Cedar Street home were legally owned.
“He might have bought [the guns] prior to 2019,” 12 News Law Enforcement Analyst Steven O’Donnell explained. “He pleaded [no contest] to a felony, so you can’t possess firearms or ammunition if you are a convicted felon.”
O’Donnell explained that in this case, it may be up to interpretation when it comes to whether Kirios was convicted when he was sentenced to serve five years of probation.
“If they believe a five-year probation is a conviction, then that defendant’s going to have a problem,” O’Donnell said. “He could be charged with federal crimes.”
Whether the firearms were legally owned or not, O’Donnell said gun owners have a responsibility to properly secure them.
“Guns are only dangerous in the wrong person’s hands,” O’Donnell said. “If you have a gun and you’re not using it for training or something like that, it should be locked up … That’s what the law was made for, to protect somebody that’s young that might not really realize what they’re doing.”
Viens’ family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses, which has already raised more than $15,000.
Kirios is scheduled to return to court in March.
